What Olympic tape-delay controversy? NBC still doesn't get it

I realize this is off-topic, but I have been so frustrated with NBC's tape-delayed west coast Olympics coverage. Vancouver BC is only a couple of hours' drive from Seattle, practically in our backyard and certainly in the same Pacific time zone. I even wanted to attend some events (but the prices were ridiculously high).

We have been following the Olympics on NBC, which tapes and delays their live coverage to the west coast. So when my mom watches the Olympics live at 8 PM in New Jersey, she can't call me to say "wasn't that wonderful?" because it's only 5 PM in Seattle and NBC won't air the coverage here for another three hours.

Yesterday's Seattle Times carried a great article by a local reporter covering the Olympics. Ron Judd has received numerous complaints from readers expressing frustration at no live coverage of the Olympics in Seattle. On their behalf, he contacted an NBC vice president of communications, Christopher McCloskey, who clearly doesn't get the problem.

Even King5, the local NBC affiliate, has had so many complaints from viewers on this subject that they said on their website, "For those concerned about the 3-hour tape delay on the West Coast, the decision to broadcast the Olympics live or on tape delay is made by NBC Sports, not KING TV."

When was the last time you heard a local affiliate of a national network disclaim the relationship?

So if you are one of the "tiny, vocal minority" that NBC thinks are the only people frustrated about watching delayed Olympics coverage happening right up the road from Seattle, feel free to contact NBC via their Olympics website for viewer response. Or send NBC an email at feedback@nbcuni.com.

You can read Judd's full Seattle Times article here.